[Kenneth]

So I finally made my decision and went for the DELL UltraSharp 2407WFP display on 3/1, dell had a 10% off and it brought down to $674.10 at that time. I even signed up for the Dell Preferred Account. It's my first purchase from Dell. Everything was fine and the total was $733.43 due to the local tax.

While it's on the way to my home, I checked dell.com. Holy moly, the display had a new price. Instead of $674.10 six days ago, it's now $629 (10% mark down from $699). I read up the sales policy, but dell didn't mention anything on price adjustment, unlike Apple.

I gave Dell a call this morning and found out that if I want the new lower price, I have to return the item and repurchase it. For option B, dell will issue me a $50 e-coupon. Both of them didn't sound right for me. I could have refused to accept the package since it was still on the UPS truck, but then I accepted the $50 e-coupon over the phone. I know!

I was excited about the big 24-inch display, but the process was a let down.

[Bob Marley]

you should have gotten the refurbished 23 incher from apple. Dont get me wrong, i love dell, my first computer was dell, and my first monitor was dell, my mom's notebook is dell, and we were going to buy a modern dell desktop till we saw a compaq one which was cheaper, but service just isnt their thing.

Oh, how much did you pay for that LCD? It would be a real shame for you to have paid that much for a 24 inch LCD if in the same budget you could have gotten a 20 inch iMac

[mduell]

I'm not surprised by your experience. Dell has new discounts/coupons/promos every week (and some times more often), so they don't want to be "giving away" money by allowing different weeks deals to apply to previous weeks purchases.

Bob Marley: WTF? He paid $624 for his 24" Dell LCD... that's about a thousand dollars cheaper than a 20" iMac.

[starman]

An Apple 23" is not nearly as good as a Dell. I have two of those Dell monitors, one on my Mac and one on my PC. The card slots alone make the thing a winner, not to mention all the video input ports.

[Lateralus]

I went with a 20" Dell 2007FP back in the summer. It developed a yellow blotch in the upper left corner. I decided to ignore it until one day I put my foot down and figured that I shouldn't put up with something like that after what I paid for the monitor.

So I called up Dell support last month and they sent me a replacement unit. All was fine for the first week or two but now I have the same yellow blotch, only this time in the lower left corner.

I'm not one to defend Apple's every product, but you can't deny that there is a certain level of quality you're paying for when you buy something with an Apple logo on it, whatever other trade offs there may be.

YMMV

[FireWire]

Originally Posted by mduell 

I'm not surprised by your experience. Dell has new discounts/coupons/promos every week (and some times more often), so they don't want to be "giving away" money by allowing different weeks deals to apply to previous weeks purchases.

I just bought a laptop from them and I understood what people meant by "the hell with Dell".. I never though buying a new laptop could be so much trouble. When I enrolled in my college, they were offering a free Dell laptop worth ~2000$ CDN. I didn't need it right away, so i chose to take it later, thinking I would get better spec after christmas, because things generally get better as the time goes by... Wrong.. The specs only got worse, going from a T7400 2.16 Ghz CPU to a T2060 1.6 Ghz, a smaller HD, lower-quality graphic card (ATI X1400 w/ 256 Mb to a Intel GMA 950), etc, all that for the same price, or even for more! WTF

What more, they kept changing offers every week! As I had to submit a quote for my school, as soon as I found a good deal, they changed it so I wouldn't have gotten it, as by the time it would get approved, the deal would be gone, and there's no way to secure it, even if you save it in your cart..

I finally had an opportunity last week, but in the end, I got a lower configuration than I would have gotten back in.. september 2006... I worked as a computer rep for a few years, so I know how the market works, and I never saw something like that elsewhere..

And I'm not even talking about their "chat-advisor" effectiveness.. You almost have to know the secret word, so they can send you a "hidden" URL so you have more option, and they can't do anything for you, like talk to a manager. Phone service was a bit better, though...

[mduell]

FireWire: Sounds like they were running a special promo for your school at the start of the year and you passed on it.
But why was your school so slow at approving orders?

Originally Posted by Lateralus 

I went with a 20" Dell 2007FP back in the summer. It developed a yellow blotch in the upper left corner. I decided to ignore it until one day I put my foot down and figured that I shouldn't put up with something like that after what I paid for the monitor.

So I called up Dell support last month and they sent me a replacement unit. All was fine for the first week or two but now I have the same yellow blotch, only this time in the lower left corner.

I'm not one to defend Apple's every product, but you can't deny that there is a certain level of quality you're paying for when you buy something with an Apple logo on it, whatever other trade offs there may be.

YMMV

Doesn't seem to be a widespread problem.
But that "quality" Apple logo looks a bit pink from here.

YMIV

[Kenneth]

I did my homework as much as I can on all 24-inch displays out there. Since I need the HDCP over DVI input, only Acer, Gateway, and DELL do offer this. The BenQ model ever offers a HDMI input.

Anyway, this is my second monitor I have ever purchased. The first one was an Apple 17-inch Studio Display LCD back in 2003, I'd no problem with it since day 1. The Dell display did arrive to my home late this afternoon as my sister told me since I was at work. I shall open it up later tomorrow.

Not to mention, a lot of MacNNers wrote positive things on the DELL widscreen displays. With 3-yr warranty, I'm sure it's great. However, how DELL treats its customers is another story. I'm wondering if Dell rolls out new promotions that often, will angry buyers just return the brand new machines and look somewhere else? assume that they went back for price checks.

[FireWire]

Originally Posted by mduell 

FireWire: Sounds like they were running a special promo for your school at the start of the year and you passed on it.
But why was your school so slow at approving orders?

If I remember, the offer on their website was better than what my school was offering, I think that's one the reasons I waited to sign-up. Afterward, the T7400 option disappeared and never came back!

My school is slow because... I really have no idea It's small private school but their bureaucracy is worse than a government agency... My financial aid (student loan) was suspended for two months because they failed to confirm my student status to the government...

Anyway, I made a long story short, but now I have to sue my school because they refuse to give my the laptop, pretexting it was a time-limited offer that expired... Fortunately, the ruling should be on my side. I sent them the notice of default this morning

[analogika]

Originally Posted by mduell 

Doesn't seem to be a widespread problem.
But that "quality" Apple logo looks a bit pink from here.

YMIV

I was going to mention the pink-tinged 23" Cinemas, as well. However, the pink tinge has been fixed, and anybody who complained under warranty got a replacement unit.

[Tiresias]

Originally Posted by analogika 

I was going to mention the pink-tinged 23" Cinemas, as well. However, the pink tinge has been fixed, and anybody who complained under warranty got a replacement unit.

That will probably make them a little brighter and more attractive.

[olePigeon]

I have experience dealing with Dell, as well:

Dell: *thick Indian accent* 'ello! My name is Joe! What is your technicicicacle problem?
Me: ...
Dell: *thick Indian accent* 'ello! My name is Joe! What is your technicicicacle problem?
Me: ... Ok. I need a new hard drive, the one on this laptop died.
Dell: *thick Indian accent* Yes, dwell, dkjglh osdhoih lh hahsldjglhoih
Me: What?
Dell: lhsdlh lh iohc j lalkj lkhg lah;ouennc
Me: Can I speak to a manager? I apologize, but I'm having trouble understanding you.
Dell: ljasgdlkh ;lhadlkgh
*hold music*
Dell: *thick Indian accent* 'ello! My name is Bill! What is your technicicicacle problem?
Me: Just need a new hard drive shipped out. This one died. Here's the part number: (part number)
Dell: lahglksj; llkhlksah olhhsgkiii (part number) lakhdsglk lhoyncn,.zi
Me: OK ...
Dell: Have a good day, my friend!
Me:
Boss: New hard drive ordered?
Me: I'm not sure.

[analogika]

Originally Posted by Tiresias 

That will probably make them a little brighter and more attractive.

What?

[Lateralus]

Originally Posted by olePigeon 

I have experience dealing with Dell, as well:

Dell: *thick Indian accent* 'ello! My name is Joe! What is your technicicicacle problem?
Me: ...
Dell: *thick Indian accent* 'ello! My name is Joe! What is your technicicicacle problem?
Me: ... Ok. I need a new hard drive, the one on this laptop died.
Dell: *thick Indian accent* Yes, dwell, dkjglh osdhoih lh hahsldjglhoih
Me: What?
Dell: lhsdlh lh iohc j lalkj lkhg lah;ouennc
Me: Can I speak to a manager? I apologize, but I'm having trouble understanding you.
Dell: ljasgdlkh ;lhadlkgh
*hold music*
Dell: *thick Indian accent* 'ello! My name is Bill! What is your technicicicacle problem?
Me: Just need a new hard drive shipped out. This one died. Here's the part number: (part number)
Dell: lahglksj; llkhlksah olhhsgkiii (part number) lakhdsglk lhoyncn,.zi
Me: OK ...
Dell: Have a good day, my friend!
Me:
Boss: New hard drive ordered?
Me: I'm not sure.

So true...

When I first called in my display to Dell, I spent forever on hold only to be greeted by a man with an indian accent so thick that I couldn't understand him. So I just hung up in frustration.

I didn't gather the desire to call back and actually get the thing replaced for another few months and even then it was pretty much a repeat of the first time.

I had a very similar but slightly faster experience with Seagate's warranty support line last month.

[mduell]

Buy from the Dell small biz store instead of the Dell home store. They moved tech support back to Texas, Idaho, and Tennessee in 2003.

[Rumor]

I had to call Dell when the bluetooth mysteriously went out on an 600m I was using for work. I got so frustrated talking to Ahashakari Bobanob, that I would start speaking spanish to them. It was quite amusing until they put me on the phone with someone that spoke much better spanish than I did. However, that person was in Texas and also spoke great english. Though, the bluetooth still doesn't work.

[Lateralus]

Originally Posted by mduell 

Buy from the Dell small biz store instead of the Dell home store.

I did.

[RAILhead]

Hm. I have the original 23-inch HD Cinema Display, and I've been thinking about trying to setup a dual monitor workspace. Seems like this Dell would work, though I only have 1 video card (the Radeon 9800XT).

I don't know jack-crap about setting up dual monitors. Any tips?

[besson3c]

Originally Posted by RAILhead 

Hm. I have the original 23-inch HD Cinema Display, and I've been thinking about trying to setup a dual monitor workspace. Seems like this Dell would work, though I only have 1 video card (the Radeon 9800XT).

I don't know jack-crap about setting up dual monitors. Any tips?

I would suggest putting them on some sort of table or apparatus so that you can view them at eye level.

[mduell]

Originally Posted by Lateralus 

I did.

Did you call the small biz support number?

I keep getting Texans on the phone when I need another laptop foot (which fall off my D610 about every 4 months).

[Gossamer]

Originally Posted by RAILhead 

Hm. I have the original 23-inch HD Cinema Display, and I've been thinking about trying to setup a dual monitor workspace. Seems like this Dell would work, though I only have 1 video card (the Radeon 9800XT).

I don't know jack-crap about setting up dual monitors. Any tips?

OS X is pretty darn good at making everything work for you if you have a dual-monitor video card.

Originally Posted by Rumor 

I had to call Dell when the bluetooth mysteriously went out on an 600m I was using for work. I got so frustrated talking to Ahashakari Bobanob, that I would start speaking spanish to them. It was quite amusing until they put me on the phone with someone that spoke much better spanish than I did. However, that person was in Texas and also spoke great english. Though, the bluetooth still doesn't work.

That's hilarious!

[Tomchu]

A friend of mine has a Dell laptop that is out of warranty. The power cable going to the adapter developed a bad connection, so he called Dell on his cell phone from school. The next day after school, a brand-new adapter and cable were on his doorstep.

There are bad experiences and good experiences with every company.

[Mr Kino]

You should have called your local dell direct store and asked them if they would like to make a sale over the phone, but only if they can get you a better price than what you are looking at over on the computer. also you should go to ecoupons.com or something similar and see what other coupons are there.

Good luck.

[Eriamjh]

... Ahashakari Bobanob...

I think I work with that guy...

[Railroader]

Samir: No one in this country can ever pronounce my name right. It's not that hard: Samir Na-gheen-an-a-jar. Nagheenanajar.

[olePigeon]

Originally Posted by Rumor 

I had to call Dell when the bluetooth mysteriously went out on an 600m I was using for work. I got so frustrated talking to Ahashakari Bobanob, that I would start speaking spanish to them. It was quite amusing until they put me on the phone with someone that spoke much better spanish than I did. However, that person was in Texas and also spoke great english. Though, the bluetooth still doesn't work.

I know you're lying cuz all their names are Bob, Mike, Joe, Bill, Jim, Ted, and Dave. At least, those are the only names I've come across at Dell.

1.1 billion Indians and only 7 first names. Must get confusing.

[Kenneth]

One of the DELL customer care rep called me few days ago regarding to my email. As last check, DELL credited back $50 on my account.

[Cadaver]

Outsourcing